Is there really a best length for an email subject line?
Yes, there is an answer to the question of what is the right length for a subject line. In the words of Deep Thought, "you're probably not going to like it". Nonetheless, I am going to tell you.
In case you don't know, Deep Thought is the computer in Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, built to answer the ultimate question of "what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything".
Deep Thought was the most powerful computer ever made and took some millennium to work out the answer, it is after all a difficult question. Needless to say great expectation and excitement built up around the day the answer would be given.
On that day Deep Thought announced there was indeed an answer, but warned that his makers would probably not like it. Deep Thought pronounced the answer as the number…
Although interacting through social media can be time-consuming, stressful even, many aspects can be automated or you can rely on organic sharing. In other words, with just a little bit of setup work and steady management from a company you can reap the rewards without so much effort. Businesses often get caught up in the hype of scheduling tools, analytics, and the numbers game, and while this is important, there are other techniques.
Now don’t get me wrong—scheduling tools and careful Social Media analysis is great, and in many cases necessary. You want to make things easier, and these tools really are helpful. However, there are also ways that you can get your friends and followers to do a little bit of promotion and work for you. All it takes it a little bit of preparation.
How to make sure you’re using the built-in advantages of Social Media?
If you want to stop…
... and who isn't?
Google+ can no longer really be called "new" since it was launched over 18 months ago and is now estimated to have 400 million users of which 100 million are active.
To mark the launch of the new guide to Smarter Marketing using Google+, which I have written with Liz Edwards, the end of this post shows 10 examples of brands who are active on Google+ and using it to sell through daily promotions mixed with other interactive content. But this isn't the whole story of Google+, some brands don't seem convinced or perhaps they or their agencies aren't organised enough to communicate regularly. So we thought we'd start with these...
Examples of brands who AREN'T using Google+ actively
As we were preparing the guide we noticed that many companies have been unable to sustain their commitment to Google+. Surprising when you think of their scale and the…
Six serious misunderstandings about social CRM
18 months ago, customer-centric innovator Dr Graham Hill, authored Social CRM at a crossroads: Where to next?, an examination of the state of play in SCRM.
A year-and-a-half later, I've been reviewing with Graham how brands have been applying Social CRM. It seems that many brands may have taken a wrong turn. But before we get to some harsh truths, it’s worth emphasising the positives – because there has still been plenty of good work done in the interim.
Brands are listening to customers more; businesses are embracing social media as a communication channel; and vendors are developing a strong portfolio of social CRM technology. All laudable achievements.
However, Graham says, when he looks at how the social CRM movement has progressed in the past 18 months, ultimately he gets a feeling of “déjà vu”. Similarities…
5 cases-in-point show why you need other metrics to review email marketing effectiveness
There have been a couple of heated debates I've been part of in the email community just recently, one about open rates and another about subject line length. In this post I'm reflecting on the open rate debate. I've added an update to the original post showing more proof that open rate fixation can be misleading.
It may surprise you that the community is very split on the value of the open rate metric, seemingly, a cornerstone metric since the dawn of email marketing. It's a metric cited in every email marketing book and on every mail marketing course... So why is its value in doubt? Ken Magill reported on some of the open rate debate.
Let me summarise some of the reasons…
3 Gems from Mark Brownlow
In the first of the 3 Gems video series from Plan to Engage, I interviewed Mark Brownlow, author of Email-Marketing-Reports.com. Both Mark and I had recently presented in Stockholm at Apsis’ customer conference and I was very impressed by all the valuable content he shared within his session on “Email Marketing Trends for 2012”.
So in this interview I asked Mark to share 3 Gems from this session. In a nutshell they are:
Design your mobile emails to be easily clickable.
Understand why you are integrating email with social – don’t do it just because you think you should.
Optimise your current triggered email programme before adding new triggers to your programme.
For more valuable insights from email marketing experts, join us at the virtual International Email Marketing Summit on November 15th – held at Your Desk.
I hope that's useful, here is the …
Facebook responds to brand backlash...
Last week I explained the changes to the Facebook algorithm which resulted in a huge drop in organic reach for brand pages.
Facebook has responded with a small tweak, just rolled out in the last day or so, which will enable fans to choose to see all a brand's notifications to their wall. AllFacebook.com have more on how Facebook's new notifications work.
Once brands realise this is now out of beta be prepared for a slew of notifications instructing fans to tick the Show in News Feed option. So my advice would be to "get in early".
And given that just posting a request to Fans to get Notifications on Facebook is probably likely to get to a measly 10% of your fanbase, you probably have no choice but to make it a Promoted Post.
On the…
New survey shows that clicks are only one part of the story
Email marketing enjoys a solid reputation as a direct response channel. Which is one reason email marketing metrics tend to focus on just that: the direct response questions:
"Did they open? Did they click?"
We congratulate ourselves when we go "beyond the click" and measure conversions, revenues and profits. And we're understandably excited about new metrics like read and print rates.
All these numbers have important roles to play. But their availability seduces us into forgetting they do not capture all the important responses to email.
The UK DMA, fast.MAP and Alchemy Worx just released the 2012 Email Tracking Study, which looks at the self-reported inbox and social habits of just over 1,000 UK consumers.
New update: Infographic released:
"In this post I share some survey data and explore the implications of email marketing “beyond the open”...showing how consumers really…
Four segments that look to community reviews when selecting products
Leading customer community platform company GetSatisfaction recently conducted research on the kind of person that values a customer community as part of a purchase or brand experience. This cleverly put together infographic explains the four active consumer types within communities that were highlighted by the research. While the data is largely American I don't believe the types will differ in the UK, although I do wonder whether the grouping is too simplistic.
Customer communities are a fast growing requirement for businesses that need to connect with their cosumers (so all businesses in my opinion). Allowing customers to feedback (good and bad) and connect with one another about using your products services. They can help bring new ideas to your business, some you would have anticipated. If your consumer…
What does it mean for content marketing?
What is it with the idea of storytelling these days, everyone's at it apparently - creatives, PR execs, ad agencies and now digital marketers, it appears. It sounds useful, inspiring even, I used the expression myself last week in a marketing seminar, but as the word came up again in a meeting yesterday I wondered - what does it actually mean for modern marketing? And, do we all think it means the same thing?
"Marketing is storytelling. The story of your product, built into your product. The ad might be part of it, the copy might be part of it, but mostly, your product and your service and your people are all part of the story. Tell it on purpose." ― Seth Godin
Bigger than marketing
First and foremost it's important to say that stories have to reflect the sum total of your business or brand, you…
